NOW that the Christmas season is over, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has returned to its programme of community-related developmental and other activities which are geared at engaging the attention and energies of mostly young people.

On Wednesday, Assistant Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken; Superintendents Wayne De Hearte, Irving Trotz and Jessemy and Assistant Superintendent Althea Scipio visited the St. Anne’s

Primary School and the Agricola football ground, where they pledged to continue working with young folk in the new year.
At the primary school, the police will continue their weekly skills- training classes with the children of the community through the school and with the assistance of the elders within that community.
Last year, the police held a graduation for children who had completed several weeks of training in various elementary disciplines, and had promised to continue working with them in 2015 and to take the training to an even higher level.
The visit to the football ground saw the finalising of plans for the commissioning of the ground in that community. The GPF with the assistance of corporate Guyana has pooled resources to develop the facility so that young people from the area can utilise it, instead of having to travel to other communities to use recreational facilities there.

The police were instrumental in ensuring that the sand and mud- filling of the ground as well as the fencing and construction of bleachers were completed. Their efforts were also assisted by businessman, Mr. Hack, and the Ministry of Public Works.
The police had also commenced working with several young ladies and a lone young man from the community in a cookery class, from which they graduated late last year. Their programme is also continuing and the police will be looking to provide avenues for them to expand and branch out on their own.
At the conclusion of their elementary course, the young people expressed an interest in moving to an even higher level and requested that the police remain on board to assist them in the process, something that the Guyana Police Force, through Commissioner Seelall Persaud, has given his no-objection to.
Within a matter of days ,the police will commission the football ground in the community and that will be marked by a fun-day and other activities, which will be attended by senior police officers and those from the business community, who have been assisting in improving police- community relations projects.

(Leroy Smith)